757 research outputs found

    Bernard Vonnegut (1914-1997)

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    Bernard Vonnegut, a Fellow of AGU, the American Meteorological Society, and the Royal Meteorological Society, died of cancer in Albany, N.Y. on April 25,1997. At 82, he was still an active and innovative scientist serving as both Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the State University of New York, at Albany and Honorary President of the International Commission of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics

    Influence of zoning and habitats on the spatial distribution of recreational activities in a multiple-use marine park

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    The spatial distribution of recreation is influenced by many factors, and also differs between activity types. Understanding these relationships is essential for planning and sustainable management of resource use, especially in coastal marine parks, which are often exposed to considerable anthropogenic pressure. However, such information is rarely available, especially at fine spatial scales. Ningaloo Marine Park, in north-western Australia, has a diversity of zoning and habitats, making it an ideal location to investigate the effect of these two attributes on recreational use. Spatially explicit data on a suite of recreational activities were obtained using 192 land-based roving surveys conducted over a 12-month period. Fishing was distributed widely throughout the Marine Park and was negatively associated with sanctuary (no-take) zones, whilst surfing and snorkeling had relatively high participation but were undertaken at localized sites, characterized by a rocky shoreline and sanctuary zones, respectively. Such data provides a greater understanding of patterns of recreational use with respect to zoning and habitat which can inform management and planning processes. This is especially pertinent for sanctuary zones, which, although they exclude recreational fishing and its associated effects, are popular with people participating in non-extractive activities (i.e., snorkeling) and may therefore still be vulnerable to environmental impacts

    Truthmakers and modality

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    This paper attempts to locate, within an actualist ontology, truthmakers for modal truths: truths of the form or . In section 1 I motivate the demand for substantial truthmakers for modal truths. In section 2 I criticise Armstrong’s account of truthmakers for modal truths. In section 3 I examine essentialism and defend an account of what makes essentialist attributions true, but I argue that this does not solve the problem of modal truth in general. In section 4 I discuss, and dismiss, a theistic account of the source of modal truth proposed by Alexander Pruss. In section 5 I offer a means of (dis)solving the problem

    Antibiotic misuse in respiratory tract infections in children and adultsa prospective, multicentre study (TAILORED Treatment)

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    Respiratory tract infections (RTI) are more commonly caused by viral pathogens in children than in adults. Surprisingly, little is known about antibiotic use in children as compared to adults with RTI. This prospective study aimed to determine antibiotic misuse in children and adults with RTI, using an expert panel reference standard, in order to prioritise the target age population for antibiotic stewardship interventions. We recruited children and adults who presented at the emergency department or were hospitalised with clinical presentation of RTI in The Netherlands and Israel. A panel of three experienced physicians adjudicated a reference standard diagnosis (i.e. bacterial or viral infection) for all the patients using all available clinical and laboratory information, including a 28-day follow-up assessment. The cohort included 284 children and 232 adults with RTI (median age, 1.3 years and 64.5 years, respectively). The proportion of viral infections was larger in children than in adults (209(74%) versus 89(38%), p < 0.001). In case of viral RTI, antibiotics were prescribed (i.e. overuse) less frequently in children than in adults (77/ 209 (37%) versus 74/89 (83%), p < 0.001). One (1%) child and three (2%) adults with bacterial infection were not treated with antibiotics (i.e. underuse); all were mild cases. This international, prospective study confirms major antibiotic overuse in patients with RTI. Viral infection is more common in children, but antibiotic overuse is more frequent in adults with viral RTI. Together, these findings support the need for effective interventions to decrease antibiotic overuse in RTI patients of all ages

    Physics, Topology, Logic and Computation: A Rosetta Stone

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    In physics, Feynman diagrams are used to reason about quantum processes. In the 1980s, it became clear that underlying these diagrams is a powerful analogy between quantum physics and topology: namely, a linear operator behaves very much like a "cobordism". Similar diagrams can be used to reason about logic, where they represent proofs, and computation, where they represent programs. With the rise of interest in quantum cryptography and quantum computation, it became clear that there is extensive network of analogies between physics, topology, logic and computation. In this expository paper, we make some of these analogies precise using the concept of "closed symmetric monoidal category". We assume no prior knowledge of category theory, proof theory or computer science.Comment: 73 pages, 8 encapsulated postscript figure
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